Payroll Tax

News about payroll taxes, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

May. 3, 2013

Economists argue that mandatory government spending cuts and higher payroll taxes are to blame for stagnation in job creation, consumer spending and other areas; trend has exacerbated market jitters as investors await April unemployment report from Labor Department. MORE

Apr. 14, 2013

Op-Ed article by law Prof Linda Sugin underscores need for payroll taxes to be flushed out into open to expose their regressive effect. MORE

Feb. 18, 2013

Op-Ed article by columnist Ramesh Ponnuru contends today's Republicans are still stuck in Reagan-era mindset and refuse to see conditions are different now; urges them to develop a comprehensive program that addresses whole host of current problems, like heavy payroll tax and high health care costs. MORE

Feb. 8, 2013

Millions of Americans are feeling budget pinch from sharp increase in payroll taxes that took effect in January 2013; preliminary data suggests that shift may be eroding consumer confidence and curbing spending. MORE

Jan. 2, 2013

Only the most affluent American households will pay higher income taxes under terms of fiscal deal that passed Congress, but most Americans will see more money taken out of their paychecks because deal does not extend two-year-old payroll tax break. MORE

Nov. 25, 2012

Ross Douthat Op-Ed column calls on both political parties to do everything they can to make payroll tax holiday permanent; contend payroll tax has made Social Security seem paid for, and thus sacrosanct, while imposing unnecessary burden on economy. MORE

Oct. 1, 2012

Temporary payroll tax holiday ends Jan1, 2013, and 160 million American wage earners will probably see their tax bills jump, regardless of who wins the presidential election in November or what compromises Congress strikes to keep the economy from automatic tax increases and spending cuts; independent analysts say expiration of the tax cut could shave as much as a percentage point off economic output in 2013, and cost the economy as many as one million jobs. MORE

Jun. 10, 2012

Sunday Dialogue on whether wealth-based income derived from investing should be excused from payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare. MORE

Mar. 1, 2012

Gail Collins Op-Ed column ridicules Mitt Romney's proposed fixes to the Social Security imbalance, which focus on cutting benefits and raising the retirement age; holds that the simplest fix would be to eliminate the payroll tax cap, solution that is intolerable to Romney and his fiscally conservative supporters. MORE

Feb. 22, 2012

Experts say little-noticed changes contained in the payroll tax-cut bill will aid the long-term jobless and help hold down unemployment rate in future recessions; changes include allowing states to use unemployment insurance money for programs that help move jobless back into the work force. MORE

Feb. 18, 2012

Congress votes to extend payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits and sends the legislation to Pres Obama, ending a contentious policy fight; both parties claim the extensions as election-year victories. MORE

Feb. 17, 2012

Congress is embracing a shift in the media landscape by auctioning public airwaves now used for television broadcasts to create more wireless Internet systems in order to generate revenue to partly cover the extension of the payroll tax cut and long-term unemployment benefits; measure is a rare instance of the government compensating private companies with the proceeds from an auction of public property, broadcast licenses, once given free; if bill is approved the result will eventually be faster connections for data-hungry mobile devices. MORE

Feb. 16, 2012

House-Senate committee completes measure to extend a $150 billion payroll tax reduction through the end of 2012, only an hour before mandated deadline; measure will also extend unemployment benefits and prevent a pay cut for doctors who accept Medicare; leaders of both parties express hope that the measure will pass, but many rank-and-file Republicans say they may vote against it. MORE

Feb. 16, 2012

Editorial contends last-minute Congressional plan to extend the payroll tax cut and federal jobless benefits is imperfect, but sound; calls extension a victory for Pres Obama and Democrats, who made it a centerpiece of their agenda, and who were able to force Republican compliance under mounting political pressure. MORE

Feb. 16, 2012

Gail Collins Op-Ed column derides Congress for its last-minute cooperation on a payroll tax extension and insider trading rules in face of unprecedentedly low approval ratings; notes that even these modest compromises have been marked by petty and self-interested dispute. MORE

Feb. 15, 2012

Members of a House-Senate committee charged with writing a measure to extend a payroll tax reduction and provide added unemployment benefits reach a tentative agreement; both Republicans and Democrats claim a degree of political victory in a fight with significant election-year implications. MORE

Feb. 14, 2012

Congressional Republicans yield, after months of partisan confrontation, from demand that a payroll tax rollback be paid for with reductions in jobless benefits and Medicare; sudden and surprising move clears the way for an extension of the tax cut for 160 million Americans through 2012. MORE

Feb. 10, 2012

Congressional Republicans say that negotiations over extending a payroll tax cut are going so poorly that it was possible the tax break, along with added unemployment benefits, could expire at the end of the month; Democrats have dismissed a host of Republican suggestions for how to pay for extending the cuts and jobless benefits, leading Republicans to insist that the party is not serious about making a deal. MORE

Feb. 9, 2012

Sen Jon Kyl of Arizona is undergoing a final trial as a Republican negotiator in talks with Democrats to keep alive a two-percentage-point payroll tax cut he helped create in 2010; observers say Kyl's legacy as a master deal-maker is at stake in the current talks; Kyl is scheduled to retire in January, 2013. MORE

Feb. 8, 2012

Bipartisan Congressional negotiating committee clashes over how to pay for another short-term extension of payroll tax cuts and jobless benefits; Senate Democrats suggest they will come up with their own bill to get the matter resolved. MORE

Feb. 7, 2012

Editorial calls on Congressional Republicans to extend the payroll tax cut for a full year, contending that failure to do so will reduce growth and derail a slow-moving economic recovery; notes Republicans' current tactic is to attach extraneous, ideological provisions to the cut in order to appear as if they are not acquiescing to Pres Obama in an election year. MORE

Jan. 31, 2012

Editorial scores bill backed by House Republicans that would pay for an extension of the payroll tax cut by increasing taxes on millions of poor working families; notes that bill would deny cash refunds under the child tax credit to those who file returns using IRS-issued identification numbers, which are often used by unauthorized immigrants; asserts that bill would not only hurt illegal immigrants, but also the fragile and poor communities in which they live. MORE

Jan. 25, 2012

Presidential politics could turn negotiations over extension of Pres Obama’s payroll tax cut into the next partisan donnybrook; Republicans and Democrats in Congress, already at historic lows in popularity, are far apart in how to cover the $160 billion it would cost to maintain the cut, and differ on what other measures should be added to the legislation. MORE

Jan. 18, 2012

Both parties have given ground in Congress’s fight over a yearlong payroll tax deal, but how to pay for it remains a thorny question; finding more than $160 billion in savings may prove more troublesome than leaders let on, and that might be only a starting point. MORE

Jan. 7, 2012

Editorial asserts that in order to sustain even the modest job growth reported in December 2011, the government will have to do more; holds that at a minimum, Congress needs to extend federal unemployment benefits and the payroll tax cut beyond their expiration in late February. MORE

Dec. 27, 2011

Bill that temporarily extended payroll tax cuts and jobless benefits and preserved status quo on Medicare doctors' fees through February 2012 essentially leaves every dispute unresolved and waiting to be addressed when Congress returns from its holiday break. MORE

Dec. 24, 2011

Congressional Memo; Speaker John A Boehner defies the conservative, highly opinionated Republican freshmen in his House conference by accepting the Senate's short-term solution over the payroll tax break; will find out when Congress reconvenes in January 2012 whether these less-experienced members have finally learned a lesson or plan to fight back, posing a potential threat to his leadership. MORE

Dec. 23, 2011

Republican leaders bow to intense pressure from members of their party to end a politically damaging impasse, by agreeing to accept a two-month extension of a payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits; Speaker John A Boehner concedes that it was not a good idea to put Republicans between a tax cut and the 160 million Americans who would benefit from it and, in the process, to allow President Obama to seize the momentum on the issue. MORE

Dec. 23, 2011

News analysis; President Obama’s victory over House Republicans in their showdown over payroll tax cuts and unemployment aid has helped him more politically than substantively; he is no longer viewed as willing to compromise to avoid confrontation, a notion that the White House was eager to dispel after the federal budget impasse. MORE

Dec. 23, 2011

Editorial asserts that the struggle in Congress over whether to extend a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits has exposed voters in the starkest way to the obstructionist temperament of the Republican-controlled House; says impasse lays bare the limits of Republican brinkmanship. MORE

Dec. 22, 2011

Pres Obama regains some political footing with the help of House Republicans, whose handling of a standoff over payroll taxes had even leading conservatives accusing them of bungling the politically charged issue; Democrats still fear Obama could be hurt if the tax break and jobless aid are not extended, and the economy sours. MORE

Dec. 22, 2011

Political Memo; Newt Gingrich reluctantly wades into the partisan clash that leaves many Republicans worrying whether they are landing on the wrong side of a tax argument with Congressional Democrats; Republican presidential candidates' sharp critiques of Pres Obama come as Congressional approval ratings are far below those of the president. MORE

Dec. 22, 2011

Gail Collins Op-Ed column chastises United States Congressmen for using vacations as an excuse for not dealing with the payroll tax, unemployment and Medicare. MORE

Dec. 21, 2011

House Republicans, lead by Speaker John A Boehner, defiantly reject bill to extend payroll tax cut that was overwhelmingly supported by both parties in the Senate as well as the White House; Pres Obama holds impromptu news conference to sharply criticize vote, as House floor erupts into partisan derision and many lawmakers depart Washington for holiday recess, leaving issue unresolved; rejection puts House Republicans in precarious position of standing in the way of a tax cut affecting nearly every American household. MORE

Dec. 21, 2011

More than three million people stand to lose unemployment insurance benefits because of impasse in Congress over how to extend the aid and how to offset the cost; jobless benefits have been overshadowed by Congressional debate on a payroll tax cut, but have become a huge sticking point in negotiations on bill that deals with both issues. MORE

Dec. 21, 2011

Editorial excoriates House Republicans for rejecting a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut and the continuation of unemployment benefits, which will lead to a reduction in the take-home pay of 160 million American workers; asserts that their refusal to pass the bill will endanger both individual families and the nation. MORE

Dec. 20, 2011

House Republicans prepare to reject Senate measure to extend a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for millions of Americans for two months and demand that the Senate reopen negotiations over the benefits. MORE

Dec. 19, 2011

House Speaker John A Boehner flatly rejects bipartisan Senate measure to extend a payroll tax break and unemployment insurance for two months, setting the stage for a bitter, year-end Congressional collision and potential loss of benefits for millions of Americans; many Republicans who supported the measure in the Senate and are embarrassed by the about-face, throw their support behind Boehner, who is insisting on a one-year deal. MORE

Dec. 19, 2011

Editorial contends that sheer obstinacy and political rancor are preventing some House Republicans from approving Pres Obama's two-month extension of a payroll tax cut, which passed Senate with overwhelming bipartisan vote; asserts that Republicans and Speaker John Boehner have already won far more than their share of concessions through cynical bait-and-switch legislative tactics. MORE

Dec. 18, 2011

Senate votes 89-to-10 to extend payroll tax cut for only two months, garnering minor victory for chamber's leaders and White House even as they punt issue into the new year; $33 billion package is not guaranteed passage in the House, where several rank-and-file Republicans have objected to it, despite provision that would speed decision process on Keystone XL Pipeline; several lawmakers acknowledge that brief extension only means Democrats and Republicans will resume fight over issue in February 2012. MORE

Dec. 18, 2011

Two-month extension of payroll tax cut, which cleared Senate on Dec 18, includes Republican provision that would compel President Obama to decide fate of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days; it would also allow any changes to the pipeline route to bypass the National Environmental Policy Act, which subjects major federal projects to review. MORE

Dec. 17, 2011

Senate leaders say they have reached deal to extend payroll tax cut for two months, falling far short of yearlong extension they were seeking; deal will speed decision process for construction of Keystone XL pipeline, provision necessary to win over Republicans who opposed tax break; rank-and-file members of House say they are opposed to short-term extension, and approval in that chamber, even with pipeline provision, is uncertain; separately, House passes $1 trillion spending bill that will keep government funded through September 2012. MORE

Dec. 17, 2011

Economists warn the looming expiration of temporary payroll tax cut -- and possibility that Congress will not extend it -- would cause families to spend less and could slow economic growth and hiring, possibly even pushing America back into recession. MORE

Dec. 16, 2011

Congressional leaders announce that they have agreed on a large-scale spending measure to keep the government running for the next nine months; an accord on extending the payroll tax holiday remains elusive, with Democrats weighing a possible short-term extension, setting the stage for another fight with Republicans over how to pay for it. MORE

Dec. 16, 2011

Significant minority of Republicans and Democrats say that cutting payroll taxes, which finance Social Security benefits, will further undermine the program; the Obama administration, many budget experts and the chief actuary for the Social Security Administration say the payroll tax cut extension will do no such thing. MORE

Dec. 15, 2011

Political Memo; bitter partisan battle over how to pay for an extension of payroll tax cuts has sparked discussion in Congress of shutting down the government; leaders of both parties say they are determined to avoid a pre-Christmas shutdown and have expressed outrage, much of it manufactured, and blamed the other side for the potential shutdown; it is the third time this year that leaders have threatened such radical action. MORE

Dec. 14, 2011

Houses passes legislation, 234-193, extending a cut in Social Security payroll taxes for 160 million Americans for another year; vote defies a veto threat from President Obama, and the Senate Democratic majority vows to reject it. MORE

Dec. 13, 2011

House Republicans' proposed bill to hold down payroll taxes and extend unemployment benefits also includes a special dispensation to doctors who invest in hospitals, which could benefit dozens of hospitals and their physician owners. MORE

Dec. 13, 2011

Editorial asserts that the latest Republican plan to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits by cutting social spending without raising taxes on the wealthy does so at the expense of vulnerable Americans. MORE

Dec. 12, 2011

High costs of last-minute items pending before Congress are a major reason lawmakers have had so much difficulty reaching a year-end agreement on payroll taxes and other issues; fierce fight has broken out in Congress over whether to use savings from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to cover cost of big-ticket items. MORE

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